Cats are natural predators. Even our domesticated kitties have innate hunting instincts they enjoy acting on. In fact, they don’t just enjoy acting on them… they need to act on them.
If you’re looking for an enrichment activity that will keep your cat entertained and allow them to put their nose to use, engaging those hunting instincts, then look no further. Try this DIY busy box for cats!
*Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using one of these links, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps me to continue creating helpful content. Don’t worry – I would never recommend something I don’t like or use myself!
The Importance of Enrichment for Cats
Though some may believe cats to be couch potatoes, they are actually quite active creatures who require both mental and physical activity to be at their happiest and healthiest. If they are not given proper outlets to engage their natural instincts and release their energy, they can become bored, depressed, and even destructive.
In her book Indoor Cat: How to Enrich Their Lives and Expand Their World, veterinarian Lynn Bahr says this: “Ironically, while many cat owners house their cats exclusively inside to keep them healthy, [indoor cats] are actually more likely to suffer from a host of physical and mental health issues because of their indoor lifestyle. Due to their lack of physical activity, as well as containment in an unenriching environment, indoor cats are more likely to suffer from serious health conditions, including obesity, diabetes, and cystitis. They’re also more prone to developing mental health issues, like depression, and boredom-related behavioral conditions, like aggression and elimination outside the litter box.”
While I wouldn’t advocate for allowing your cat to free roam outdoors as a solution to their boredom, I would say that we can do more for our cats to combat their boredom, depression, and lack of activity.
What is a Busy Box?
There are a multitude of ways we can spice up our cats’ daily lives with interactive playtime, clicker training, cat enrichment toys, food puzzles and foraging toys, and supervised outdoor time to name a few. We can even bring the outside in to them by creating a foraging box for cats with leaves, pinecones, grass, etc.
One of my favorite ways provide my kitties with some fun enrichment is with a DIY busy box for cats! Okay, but what is a busy box?
You may have heard of them in reference to young children. They are quite literally a box filled with objects to keep kids busy – open-ended toys, craft supplies, books, etc. They not only keep kids busy, but they give them a chance to explore and learn on their own.
A busy box for cats is essentially the same thing, but instead of filling a box with kids toys, you fill it with things your cat will like – toys, crinkly paper, treats, catnip, leaves, etc. Your cat can sniff around, forage for treats, engage their senses, and have some fun.
The Benefits of a Busy Box for Cats
As you’ve gathered by now, cats need different outlets for mental and physical activity and enrichment. A busy box hits on both fronts!
In fact, there are a host of benefits your cat can enjoy from playing with a busy box:
- Keeps them mentally engaged
- Gets them physically moving to manipulate the box and its contents
- Requires them to use their problem-solving skills to figure out how to open things and/or get to the treats and toys
- Encourages instinctual behaviors such as sniffing and foraging
- Engages all five of their senses
- Keeps them entertained for an extended period of time
- Can be made differently every time to keep the activity fresh and fun
- It’s FREE to make!
How to Make a DIY Cat Busy Box
The good news is that busy boxes are SUPER easy to make and take just a few minutes to put together. You can also use things you probably have lying around your house already, so there’s no need to go out and buy anything.
There are only a couple of MUST HAVE items:
- A box – could be a shoe box or other smaller cardboard box
- Treats – could be your cat’s favorite crunchy treat, kibble cat food, or a combination of dry treats
Here’s a list of possible things to include in your busy box:
- Empty toilet paper or paper towel rolls
- Pieces of packing paper
- Crumpled paper balls
- Foil ball cat toys
- Strips of fabric, such as fleece scraps
- Paper bags
- Any small cat toys – balls, springs, stuffed toys, etc.
- Catnip
- Egg carton or part of one
- Empty food containers, such as a yogurt container
- Empty Kleenex box
- Tissue paper
- Pom pom balls
- WHATEVER ELSE YOU CAN THINK OF!
As you can see, you have the opportunity to get creative and come up with all kinds of different combinations of items to create your cat’s busy box.
Once you’ve found your items, all you have to do is fill your shoe box or cardboard box with the items, hide some treats inside, and voila! You’ve got yourself an afternoon of fun for your kitty!
Tips for creating your busy box:
- If your cat is new to foraging activities, make things easier for them to start. For example, instead of hiding treats inside of things, just sprinkle them on top.
- Once your cat has gotten hang of the foraging thing, you can make your creations more difficult by:
- Hiding the treats inside of objects, like inside a crumpled paper ball.
- Layering objects within the box – for example, hiding a treat inside a crumpled paper ball and then stuffing the crumpled paper ball inside a toilet paper roll.
- Stuff a Kleenex box with paper and treats, tape the big opening across the top shut, poke smaller holes in the sides of the box, and then place inside the busy box.
- Close up your busy box before giving it to your cat so they have to figure out how to open the box first.
- Stuff the box with more items/obstacles.
- Make the box different each time you give it to your cat.
- Don’t use any small items that could pose a choking hazard, and don’t use string or yarn or other potentially hazardous items.
- Store all your busy box items in a grocery bag, trash bag, or larger box so you can reuse them again later.
Be sure to only give your cats a busy box when you’re able to supervise them. Though you’re hopefully only using items that are cat-safe, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Accidents can always happen, and you want to be around in case your cat starts eating paper or gets their head stuck in something for some reason.
Otherwise, let your cat(s) go wild!
Looking for more cat enrichment activities?
Try a Snuffle Ball! Stuff it with your cat’s favorite treats, and watch your cat sniff them all out as they roll the ball around and engage those foraging instincts.
Sign up below to get 10% off my handcrafted snuffle balls for cats!
About the Author
Emily Hall, ABCCT is a certified cat trainer and cat adventure enthusiast. As a “mom” to five cats and one dog, she has been writing in the pet industry for 10 years, with a focus on traveling and adventuring with cats. Emily has a passion for getting out there and doing more with her cats – for pushing the bounds of cat expectations! She and her husband enjoy hiking, road-tripping, camping, and canoeing with their three cat adventurers. Read more about Emily here.
Leave a Reply